Team Auto Plus, set another record that will probably be left unchallenged for quite sometime. Manuel Go's Lancer Evolution V, driven by the country's quickest driver, Raymond Go, ran a blistering 10.971 secs. at 125.69 MPH!!! This is THE QUICKEST Street Car in the Philippines! Yes, you read that correctly, its a STREET CAR. Manuel, one of the partners at Auto Plus, drives this car daily. It sports a sound system, A/C and all the creature comforts of a street car. Running in the high ten's TWICE that day, truly proves the awesome power this car has on tap. Its not a light weight car by any means. Probably the cause of a clutch failure later that day. With 477HP to the wheels and 400 lbs./ft of torque, even the Exedy twin plate clutch had trouble with the demands that were put on to it to propel the car! Despite having left the MHC behind a tow truck, Team Auto Plus were secure in the fact that they have accomplished what they set out to do that day... Mission accomplished!

On the flip side, Mr. Vicente Pena, also from Team Auto Plus, didn't have such a good day. His "Kansai Warrior" was suffering from a slipping clutch (After over 500 Launches over the year!!!) Even without having to line up against his team mate, Raymond, was dispatched readily by Ojie Mamuric from Matonetics. Piloting his "Just Three" Honda Civic EG, powered by a B16A (yup, its still ONLY 1600cc's), Mamuric eliminated Pena quite easily to take the win in BOTH the Quick 8 and Pro Class bracket!

Old school cars were around! Normally, Honda Civics clutter the pit lanes. This time, just about an equal amount of front engine/rear drive cars of yesteryear were around. Over 50 cars in total attended this event. Most of which participated in the Street Stock Class, but a good amount of cars were in the Sportsman category! This meant lots of 13 second cars!!! Looks like cars and driver are truly beginning to develop.

Speaking of 13 second cars, Ace Vergel's Honda S2000 (the very same car mentioned numerous times in our Burn-Out Forum), took the win over Morris Miranda, driving a Honda Civic EG. Ace showed everyone that all the tuning in the world isn't enough to win races... It's the driving that truly counts! Ace's driving skills at the helm of his S2000 gleamed. Shifting quickly and consistently throughout that day, he earned his place as one of the class winners.

Race Results:

Quick 8

Ojie Mamuric

Pro

Ojie MamuricVicente Pena

Sportsman

Ace VergelMorris Miranda

Hotstreet

Sonny TorresAnthony Abigania

Street Stock

Artie LopezByron Dimaculangan

All Honda

Marvin Montecillo

All Mitsubishi

Romy Santos

All Toyota

Peng Diaz

All Motor

Jerick Jarlego

Disappointingly, I did notice a couple of things that, by now, shouldn't have happened. The PDRF let too many SAFETY issues un-addressed.

First, and most disconcerting of all, were the crowds of people watching right at the staging area, by the start line with just "sack" material as a barrier!!! Cars doing their burn-outs rollin to this area, at speed, with their rear suspensions unloaded. This makes for very tail happy cars! Having spectators right next to the cars just unthinkable! Plus, having this many "Old School" cars around, its amazing that no one got "clipped" as these cars launched.

Another infraction I noticed was the lack of attention to fluids on the track. Some cars dropped fluids right at the start line. In the PDRF's own rules and regulations, this is grounds for disqualification! I called this to the attention of one of the PMA marshalls, but was summarily ignored, since the offending cars belonged to PDRF "affiliates". Not even an effort to sweep up the fluids! Cars running on slicks are not only susceptible to excessive spin at even the slightest amount of water, but this makes for a down right dangerous situation.

Considering that the PDRF has been around since 1992, I expected that they would have at least considered these two situations while running their event and corrected them right away. So far, they have been lucky. But, why wait until something bad happens? Changes need to be made. Hopefully, soon, before anyone gets hurt!

The day was full of close races and wonderfully loud and powerful cars! Drivers and cars are showing their development, as everyone seems to have gone quicker. October 27th will be a day that'll be remembered for quite sometime, despite the shortcomings of its event organizer and sanctioning body.

To add some spice to an otherwise dismal affair, DRP put on the Philippnes' FIRST Burn-Out Contest.

The rules of this type of competition is simple. The crowd acts as the judge. The car and driver that does the smokiest or longest burn-out wins! The use of water, oil, tranny fluid or bleach is allowed. Practically anything that can win over the crowd's approval, as long as it doesn't endanger anyone, can be used. Each driver gets three tries.

Burn-out contests are very entertaining and usually draws a crowd. Organized in literally a few minutes, DRP was able to convince a few brave souls to put on a great show for the remaining Trans-Party goers.

The field was varied. Honda Civics, a Toyota Corolla and Corona and a Ford SVT Lightning shaved thousands of kilometers off their tires.

Nodalo's Mufflers and Headers provided great prizes for the competitors. The winner was to take home a set of Nodalo's Headers, a Stainless Steel muffler and a Tenzo Air Filter!

Redline Racing's SVT Lightning was a crowd favorite. Most people remember the burn-outs this vehicle has done in past events. But, after the first competitor started his burn-out, everyone knew that this was to be a different ball game! Marvin Suzara, driving Xavier Uy's Toyota Corona, did an imitation of a fog machine! The clouds of smoke were so thick that, not only did the car disappear, but even the crowd! I could feel the jaws of the Redline Racing crew drop.

Christopher Castro made a semi-smokey, but long legged tire heating session. He must have laid about 60 feet worth of tire marks! Ranier Garcia did the same thing with his TRD fortified Corolla, but with much more smoke.

Even newbies were welcome to give it a go. Hiro Kotake of Team Ground Zero, took his Civic SiR through the motions. Alas, his inexperience got the best of him, but kudos for trying! Maybe next time..

It seemed the Honda Civic had a tough time keeping their cars still. Could this mean Civics hook better off the line? Could be, in my opinion.

The Lightning used lots of water to "lubricate" its tires. In only a couple of seconds, clouds of tire smoke literally were puring out of its fenders! Molten rubber even landed on the Man with the Red Cap! This burn-out was so awesome it actually left an "impression" on the pavement! Then, just to cap off its performance, Marvin Montecillo went on to leave two huge black stripes, about 75 feet in length!

Gee, now things were getting exciting. Who won? It seemed we had a tie between the Lightning and the Corona.

A tie-breaker round was in order. The Redline Lightning was up first. More of the same drama occured. Marvin (Montecillo) held his foot down a bit longer than before, then scourched the pavement once more. There was so much rubber from this burn-out, that I was able to scoop up a handful and make a 2" rubber ball!!! Truly a tough act to beat.

Well, Marvin (Suzara) and his crew had something up their sleeve. As he drove the Corona to the line, they pointed out something on the tires. It was oil! Then, with the boom box blasting, Marvin let out the clutch. The smoke that ensued was so thick, I think PAGASA may get a false storm warning on their monitors around the FORT Bonifacio area!!! I mean, even the nearby Jolibee disappeared in to the smoke. And when it was all over, he left a pile of shreaded rubber, smoking rubber! (yes, it was still smoking!)

The crowd cheered and hollered. We had ourselves a winner. Marvin Suzara, driving Xavier Uy's Toyota Corona takes home the prize! Congratulations to you, both!

Who will be the next DRP Burn-Out Champ? Well, let's find out at the next burn-out contest. Coming to an event near you...

Many thanks to all the competitors and spectators as well as to Nodalo's Mufflers and Headers. Without any of you, DRP wouldn't have been able to pull off such an entertaining show

ProSpeed, known as one of the BEST drag racing organizers in the Philippines, put on a GREAT show for the participants and spectators last Sept. 15th. The Shell banners and flags waved in the breeze, exhibited an atmosphere of professional motorsports. Sponsor's banners prominently displayed added to the air of a great show about to unfold. In the morning hours, ProSpeed ran the continuation of their postponed Aug. 4th event. Most of the participants for that event didn't show, as only 30 or so drivers competed.

There was some confusion as to whether the drivers would be able to get credit for the cancelled race, in the afternoon session. At first, the decision was to credit only 50% of the entry fee. But, after speaking to Mr. Butch Inducil of ProSpeed, they had decided to allow the participants to use their credited entry, all of it, at any remaining event of the season! A TRUE gesture of goodwill towards the drag racing community. Thanks, ProSpeed! (now if they would only allow unlimited time trials, then things would be almost perfect...)

Despite the low participation in the morning event, competition was still pretty fierce! Drivers in all the classes battled it out for those precious points in the championship. In the Quick 8, for example, John Grajo of Team AutoPlus, raced against Ryan Lee of ATI Racing. Ryan's Civic EG (all motor) was definitely down on performance when compared with John's force fed SiR. In a twist of fate, Ryan came out the victor! He then faced a formidable challenge of racing against Redline Racing's EVO IV for the final round. Well, you can get lucky once in awhile, but not always. Despite several re-runs (due to timing system problems), Dondi Montecillo still emerged the winner.

The afternoon (or should I say, evening?) event was in stark contrast to the earlier event. over 70 participants signed up! All classes were filled with racers, both new and experienced. Some of the DRP Test-N-Tune participants came to show their new found skills in actual competition! With exception to the Pro Class A, the field was so large that people were growing weary waiting between rounds! But, all the waiting was worth it. Competition was tight and the drivers are showing their knowledge of running with a timing system has indeed grown. Reaction times have definitely shown a great improvement!

This was also the debut of a NEW member of the DRAG RACING PINAY team! Denise (my niece) Montecillo showed some of the guys what its like racing a LADY!!! You could hear it among the crowds, "it's a GIRL!". Yup, both ladies ran well. Unfortunately, she was eliminated by the fourth round. Not bad. Considering that this was only Denise's first event! Look out guys, there are more of them coming soon!

As far as improvements go, much props must go to Mr. Ace Vergel. He is beginning to come to grips with the awesome HP his Honda S2000 was generating! From a best of 13.8, he ended the day with a 13.416 ET! Supercharged and juiced, while running street tires (slicks would simply fry the clutch!), taming the 300+ horses isn't an easy job. By the looks of it, it won't be long before Ace shatters another personal record.

Redline Racing redeemed themselves (from a poor performance last event) by running the quickest ET of the day. An 11.660@118mph! A trio of Evolution Lancers stunned the competition by running in the deep end of the 12's and mid end of the 11's (silver Makinnen). Dondi's Evolution IV (white), still being broken in, also ran in the low 12's with his son, Marvin, in the pilot's seat (aka YABANG).

Unfortunately, not all was good for Redline Racing, as their silver Makinnen developed a knock in the engine at the end of the day. Oh well, back to the machine shop! (can you say crank walk?) Let's hope that this habit of parts breakage ends soon.

The day was long and so was the wait. But, every minute was worth it! If ProSpeed continues to improve their event procedures as they have, next year's championship will not only be larger in participation, but also more pleasant to attend. (please look in to unlimited time trials!!!)

Twice in a row, downpours kept the PDRF from holding their trade mark events at the MHC. Racers from all over had been left with no where to race (except when DRP ran its Test-N-Tune night!). The ever prevelant leader of the PDRF, Nonoy Jarlego, finally put his foot down and gave the order... rain or shine, we race!

Mikki Moreno- DRP Test-N-Tune graduate

And so we did! The continuation of the Aug. 11th event was held earlier in the afternoon... Hmmm. I could've sworn I heard the annoucement was for the event to be held in the morning, so we could run the next event in the afternoon... Oh well. Better late than different, I guess.

Most racers from the Aug. 11th event didn't show, so things should've moved along pretty quickly. However, that wasn't the case. The heavens played "close-open" repeatedly throughout the day, slowing things to a crawl.

When racing did commence, things were exciting! Especially when a controvesy began to brew. In the final round of eliminations for the Sportsman Category. One of the racers was deemed disqualified because his dial-in time was beyond the class index (SPORTSMAN 13.00-14.49 sec.) Here's where it gets sticky. Qualifying was held on a different day (Aug.11) and in different conditions. Obviously, the car qualified to run in the class, but wasn't running the same way (weather had something to do with it) on Sept. 1st. Too bad, since this driver ran so well that he won the final round by a good margin. I was surprised to hear that he was indeed disqualified, since he had no control over the circumstances (qualifying two weeks before!). Maybe the PDRF should've excercised a bit more understanding. Oh well.

The frustration soon faded when the Pro Class came up on the line. Comprised of the EVO's of Vicente Peña (AutoPlus) and Dondi Montecillo (Redline Racing) and of course, the top qualifier (again!), Raymond Go (AutoPlus) and his Honda Civic EG.

EVO vs. EVO: This was THE race to see! Two super cars lined up, veteran drivers at the helm, both from very well known specialty shops. The lights came down and Montecillo gets the hole shot! Peña bogs off the line, giving the silver Makinnen Edition a good two car lengths advantage. By half track, the white steed of Mr. Peña began to make up ground! Amazing, I thought, as the win light flashes on right lane!

Hole Shot!

Final round: AutoPlus vs. AutoPlus. Vicente Pena and his top end charged EVO V in the right lane while Raymond Go and the Silver Bullet on the left. Both cars take off with turbocharged ferocity! Nothing in the movie Fast and the Furious can even compare! Just passed the half way point, smoke began to eminate beneath the Silver Bullet's undercarriage. This mishap allowed the Kansai powered EVO V pass Raymond at the big end, for the win!

RACE RESULTS: NONE(the PDRF didn't seem to think it was important we get them)

Second Event of the Day...

After a very long stint of showers, time trials were held... IN THE RAIN! Desparate was the PDRF to finish the event, that a wet track didn't keep them from running. (I wonder what the PMA had to say about that) It was a good thing that most of the cars were in the Street Stock Category and FWD. Otherwise, things could've gotten REALLY interesting!

Francisco Blanco- The Man behind A+ Horsepower

Team AutoPlus continued to dominate the field with their cars. Vicente Peña blasted through the 1320 in 11.7 seconds, to top the Pro Class. Dondi Montecillo of Redline Racing was struggling with their Makinnen Edition EVO VI, running in the low 12's.

"Not my day..."

Congratulations, Norliza Abantas of Team R Trix!

Street Stock Champ!

The final round of the Pro Class was even MORE exciting. Once again, the two EVO's from AutoPlus and Redline Racing faced off. In probably the closest race (at this level), Vicente Peña bags another win for the day! A 12.398 for the Makinnen (Dondi) to the EVO V's 12.386 (Vicente)! Talk about side by side action (that's a .254 sec. margin)!

The BEST of DSM

Close races, amazing victories and frustrating loses... all the elements of a race event. This day sure had all of them. Can't wait till the next one!

Clouds in the horizon. 10am, a confident text message from one of the ProSpeed officers states that the event will push through. 10:30am... another text message... the event has been cancelled due to rain. 1pm, yet another text message... since there are 35 participants already signed up, the event WILL push on! Off to a shakey start, we pack up Burny and head out to the track.

Upon arrival at the MHC, we notice a taxi doing a burnout as well as the hoards of cars and people already at the event. By the time I signed up Burny's entry, 58 cars were already signed in! And there were still cars coming in!

There were lots of new faces as well as racers that only raced with the "other" organizer. Race teams were all about. Team Extreme, Bagspeed, Sportmaster, Team Groundzero, MSF Autosports, Team R-Mode, Team Gainspeed, Stripteasers, ATI Racing, Redline Racing, Tony Llames Racing... just to name a few!

Burny's Special Talent

Aparently, the PMA timing system has been acting up. No wonder that no one was running time trials even by 5pm. To pass the time, some of the racers decided to make some practice passes as well as some burnouts (Burny, included). It resembled Saturday nights at.... well, you know where.

By about 6:30pm, the timing system was back up and we started running practice runs. The staging lanes were FULL! It was really nice to see the racers lining up and following the traffic rules in the pits and staging area. This really helped the marshalls in their chores. Then, the timing system decided to go south once more. This time, the delay was pretty drawn out.

Strangely enough, no one seemed to mind. All the lights at the MHC were lit, so it was like a true cruising spot. Teams banded together, and the race cars were all lined up.

It was nice walking through the pits. Much better than any car show. NO TRAILER QUEENS here. Just honest to goodness racing hardware!

For those who still complain about the banter that goes on in the Burn-Out Forum, this night was proof positive that what's written in there, stays in there. No fights, no scratched paint... just a LARGE group of DRAG RACERS hanging out together.

One noticeable thing to me was the number of turbocharged cars. My goodness! I've never been surrounded by so many force fed engines ever! Blow-off valves were whistling all around!

After the PMA worked their hearts out to get the timing system back online, qualifying began yet again. Things moved along for a bit, then... once more... no timing system. So, back to hanging out.

To make a long story short, in the end, the timing system just didn't want to cooperate. The decision was that all the drivers that signed up will be credited for the next ProSpeed event.

After talking with some of the PMA workers, it turns out that the power supply for the timing system just wasn't up to snuff. Hopefully, things will be worked out by the next event.

All in all, despite all the delays, people still had fun. Hanging out together and seeing all the cars do their thing (whether on the strip or in the practice area). After all the hard work of ProSpeed and the PMA, it just wasn't meant to be.